Players Trust

Disaster Relief

Takashi Saito hands out Little League equipment in Japan during the offseason. (MLBPA)

A $1 million grant from the Trust helped launch the Volunteers of America Gulf Region Rental Housing Development Fund. Individually through their teams, and through the Players Trust, Major Leaguers also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars for food, clothing and other necessities distributed to families displaced by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Players volunteered in temporary medical facilities, renovated damaged homes and delivered supplies and equipment to victims of the storm.

Major League baseball players and the Players Trust were quick to respond to the relief-and-recovery efforts of Haiti following the devastating earthquake in January 2010. The MLBPA joined forces with the player unions of the NFL, NHL and NBA by creating a TV public service campaign to support the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Additionally, the Players Trust made a $1 million commitment to the people of Haiti -- to be dispersed over five years -- through nonprofits dedicated to assisting the Haitian recovery efforts. Grants have been distributed to long-time Trust partners Esperanza International and Medicines for Humanity, as well as to newcomers Project C.U.R.E., Physicians for Peace, World Concern Development Organization, the National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians, YouthBuild International and the Solar Electric Light Fund.

Following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Trust made a $1 million commitment to help Japanese relief and recovery efforts over the next several years. The Trust's first effort was to replace baseball equipment for 32 youth groups and four Little Leagues whose equipment had been lost or destroyed during the tsunami. The Trust partnered with Pitch in for Baseball and purchased pre-packaged "kits" of new equipment that was distributed by Major Leaguer Takashi Saito to youth residing in Ishinomaki in November 2011.

The Players Trust also contributed $310,000 to Points of Light's Hands on Tokyo affiliate to aid people in the impacted communities of Miyagi Prefecture, Ishinomaki City and Yamomoto-Cho. The grant will be used to help construct community cafes to serve as a cultural hub to revitalize the region and rebuild lives.